A classic English bits-and-pieces player - except he was born in Scotland. Hamilton is a free-hitting middle-order batsman and in his earlier days was a springy, if inconsistent, swing bowler who is at home on the Headingley greentops but struggled on flatter wickets. He made the news with a series of top-drawer all-round performances for Yorkshire at the end of the 1998 season, and was Scotland's batting lynchpin during the 1999 World Cup. This earned him a place on England's tour of South Africa the following winter, but he scored a pair and failed to take a wicket in what will remain his only Test, at Johannesburg, and was ruthlessly dumped.

After a mandatory four-year wait, he was again picked for Scotland in the squad for the 2004 ECC European Championship and helped them qualify for the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. Following a county move from Yorkshire to Durham he suffered a bout of the yips, from which he never properly recovered his bowling. He ended his professional career in 2005 but continued to bring vital experience to the Scotland team. A long overdue maiden one-day international hundred came against Ireland in the summer of 2008, and he was a surprise successor to Ryan Watson as Scotland's captain after their side's poor show in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers the following year. He held the position until the summer of 2010, when he relinquished it to Gordon Drummond. A team man to the last, Hamilton announced his retirement later that season, not wanting to hold onto a position that would keep a younger player from developing and wanting to bow out while he was still a quality player for the national side.Cricinfo staff August 2010

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